This project was done quite some time ago, but I recently created free patterns for it (see the end of this post), and I don't think it was ever posted on Craftster (except in the FOC forum).
Here's an object that wouldn't exist if it wasn't for a FOC Challenge. In fact, it's so far out of the scope of my normal work/style, I'm completely shocked that I enjoyed the process enough to finish it.
But enjoy it, I did.
This project was inspired by Phizzychick's marvelous
Matchbook Trees.
All of the artwork on the Matchbox Sewing Kit is royalty free art from Dover Publications. All of it has been modified in Adobe Illustrator. Some of it was just "colorized" and some had bits removed/added.
Here's the exterior front. And no one is more surprised than me that this really does stay closed just like a regular matchbook -- nothing is holding it together other than the lid tucked in the bottom panel:
This is the first panel you see when opening the matchbook:
Stretched out, the different "panels" include: two colors of thread, safety pins, a needle threader, a cutting utensil, and needles (I'm not 100% satisfied with the safety pins set-up and if I make another, I'll likely try adding a bit of ribbon they can be pinned to):
Flipped over, the back panels include: two rulers (one on each edge with one imperial measurements and the other metric) and several handy measurement tables:
Here are the three "flapped" sections (threader, cutter, needles). I felt these three sections needed to be under "flaps" either for their own protection (the fragile wire of the needle threader) or the protection of the carrier (sharp, pointy things!):
Closeup of the needle threader:
Closeup of the cutting tool. For practical purposes, I felt it was important to have some sort of cutting tool. And this bit nearly stumped me. Everything I considered was either unsafe, likely to get airport travelers a private conversation with Homeland Security, or too bulky.
I finally hit on using a portion of the "tearing edge" from a box of wax paper. lol How well does it work at cutting thread? Not as good as scissors, but better than incisors.
And the needles. Which have their sharp ends stuck in a small piece of styrofoam glued to the inside of the matchbook cover:
And finally, the back:
EDITED TO ADD:
I realize my tiny little grommets don't really show in any of the pics and honestly, they're my favorite part. So one more pic:
FREE PATTERNS
Click on the image to download the PDF file (you need all three pages to create the sewing kit).
